Saturday, May 2, 2015

Japan Cuts Risks of Major Nuclear Accident by Half




Risk probability of major nuclear accident to be cut by half (April 16, 201), The Asahi Shimbun,
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201504160072

The industry ministry intends to cut the risk probability of a major nuclear accident occurring to once in 80 years, half that of the once-in-40-years rate contrived just after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

The industry ministry is a big supporter of nuclear power because it offers a cheap energy option.

The risk rate of a nuclear disaster is being revised because nuclear power plants are now only allowed to operate under safety standards set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority that are much stricter than at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami four years ago.

A plan assessing electricity generation costs was made under the administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan in 2011 following the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis, in which the probability of a large-scale nuclear power accident was presumed to be once in 40 years.

The cost of dealing with the basic damage plus the radioactive contamination of the environment was taken into account in determining the generation costs. If the probability is revised to once in 80 years, the proposed costs for dealing with nuclear disasters will be reduced.

I excerpted more than usual because I think the text of the article, as it is written, is revealing.

In related news, Japan's journalists are under assault as the Abe  government pursues "aggressive complaints to the bosses of critical journalists and commentators":
Fackler, Martin (2015, April 26) Effort by Japan to Stifle News Media Is Working. The New York times, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/world/asia/in-japan-bid-to-stifle-media-is-working.html?emc=edit_th_20150427&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=32962000

Many journalists and political experts say the Abe government is trying to engineer a fundamental shift in the balance of power between his administration and the news media, using tactics to silence criticism that go beyond anything his predecessors tried and that have frustrated many journalists. 

These have included more aggressive complaints to the bosses of critical journalists and commentators like Mr. Koga, and more blatant retaliation against outlets that persist in faulting the administration. At the same time, Mr. Abe has tried to win over top media executives and noted journalists with private sushi lunches.



2 comments:

  1. Well, well, only once in every 80 years. Perhaps three in two hundred. Of course, taking the whole planet into consideration the total in 80 years could 15 for example. Just how much radiation can we stand? Has anyone done a careful job of looking into that? At least a million lives were lost as a result of Chernobyl. How much was each of those lives worth? I imagine some might say at least a million. So that alone would be one trillion dollars. But I doubt anyone would have been selling if given the offer. This really is the oligarch madness. Psychosis due to a failure to grasp human life and relationships.

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  2. Majia has made a mistake in her comments by using the word "journalism" above, the technically accurate term is "rubbish." To call what passes for the Fifth Estate is correctly the Filth Estate (no typo). These people would not know the truth if it had gator chops and bit them in the backside.

    A little humor from Richard, but not far from the truth eh?

    I just rewatched a great film called "Kill the messenger" produced and acted in by Jeremy Renner. I followed the Gary Webb story back in the 90s and the film does a good job of encapsulating what happened. Yeah right, the CIA are good honest folks. Yuh-huh. Gary Webb was an honest, very courageous journalist who took on the system, and paid dearly. Not many like him.

    Richard Wilcox, Tokyo
    https://wilcoxrb99.wordpress.com/

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